Welcoming Week and our call to serve Christ through the stranger
Encounter at Catholic Charities
Welcoming week is just around the corner, and it is a time for us to live our Christian values and reflect on what it means to welcome the stranger.
This annual campaign seeks to celebrate the work being done in various communities to welcome immigrants throughout the United States.
Catholic Charities of Central and Northern Missouri (CCNMO) Refugee Services has traditionally participated by hosting community events aimed at raising awareness of the wonderful work we do serving refugees and other immigrants.
As we draw closer to this week of events, I ask you, as the leader of Refugee Services, to take the time to reflect on our Christian faith and how God calls us to treat the poor and the stranger with love and compassion.
The Bible offers clear guidance on how we should respond to immigrants, emphasizing compassion, hospitality and justice.
In the Old Testament, the Book of Leviticus explicitly commands, “You shall treat the alien who resides with you no differently than the natives born among you; you shall love the alien as yourself; for you too were once aliens in the land of Egypt. I, the LORD, am your God,” (19:34).
This passage is an order from God that underscores the importance of extending love and respect to strangers, reflecting the core principle of empathy that should characterize our interactions with immigrants.
At Catholic Charities Refugee Services, we live these values every day.
We are the only local resettlement agency in Central Missouri and as such are tasked with helping this vulnerable population acclimate to their new home.
Only 3% of refugees worldwide make it through the hardships of war, temporary housing such as refugee camps and the rigorous vetting processes of the UN and the governments of host nations such as the U.S.
We also help other legal immigrants with various legal statuses such as those who were given Special Immigrant Visas as a result of providing translation or interpretation services for the U.S. military in Afghanistan or Iraq.
Most of our clients have been through a harrowing process and have come to the U.S. seeking safety and a good life.
Late last year, Marlene (not her real name) arrived in the United States, happy to reunite with family and begin life here in Columbia.
She is a Congolese refugee who had spent most of her life in Uganda and years praying to be resettled in a country like the United States.
Her case managers and family welcomed her with open arms.
As a single mother, she faced challenges in finding and maintaining work that CCNMO was able to help her overcome.
Two of the biggest obstacles were childcare and that Marlene speaks very little English.
In order to aid Marlene in improving her English our Education Coordinator helped her enroll in classes provided through Sacred Heart Parish in Columbia for free.
Her case managers were also able to find her a job in a local factory where her limited English is not a barrier.
Her CCNMO Case Manager also helped her find a family member to watch her child during the day, so she knows that her 1½ year-old is happy and well cared for.
During this process, her Case Manger Angela learned that Marlene had been a tailor in Uganda and still loved to make clothing. Angela helped her order a sewing machine online and helped her learn where to buy fabrics.
Marlene is now excited to start a business, while continuing to support her family with the funds from her factory job.
The Catholic Church, as the Universal Church, embodies a global mission that transcends manmade borders.
Our call to serve the poor and the marginalized is rooted in the understanding that all human beings are equal in the eyes of God, regardless of national boundaries.
This universal perspective challenges us to extend our compassion and assistance beyond our immediate communities, embracing every individual with the same love and respect we would wish for ourselves.
In this way, our outreach to immigrants and the disadvantaged becomes a profound expression of our faith, demonstrating that the call to love and serve knows no borders.
This Welcoming Week consider how you can serve your brothers and sisters in Christ, from whatever their nationality or place of origin.
If you would like to know more about how Catholic Charities of Central and Northern Missouri is providing for those in need, please visit our website cccnmo.diojeffcity.org, or follow us on social media.
Our social media will also be updated soon with information on how to participate in Welcoming Week here in Columbia.
